The Raquette River ( moh, Ahná:wate), sometimes spelled Racquette, originates at

Raquette Lake Raquette Lake is the source of the Raquette River in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State. It is near the community of Raquette Lake, New York. The lake has of shoreline with pines and mountains bordering the lake. It is located in the t ...

in the

Adirondack Mountains The Adirondack Mountains (; a-də-RÄN-dak) form a massif in northeastern New York with boundaries that correspond roughly to those of Adirondack Park. They cover about 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2). The mountains form a roughly circular ...

in New York. long, it is the third longest river entirely in the state of New York. The river is a popular destination for canoeing and kayaking. It passes through many natural and man-made lakes to its final destination at

Akwesasne The Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne ( ; french: Nation Mohawk à Akwesasne; moh, Ahkwesáhsne) is a Mohawk Nation (''Kanienʼkehá:ka'') territory that straddles the intersection of international (United States and Canada) borders and provincial (Ont ...

on the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...

. The river is the source of 27

hydroelectric plants Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

operated by Brookfield Power, which at capacity can produce up to 181

megawatts The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wat ...

of power.Brookfield Power St. Lawrence Region Operations
/ref> Historically, the river was a part of the "Highway of the Adirondacks", by which it was possible to travel hundreds of miles by

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

or guideboat with short stretches of

portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...

connecting various waterways. This route is still followed by the

Northern Forest Canoe Trail The Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) is a marked canoeing trail in the northeastern United States and Canada, extending from Old Forge in the Adirondacks of New York to Fort Kent, Maine. Along the way, the trail also passes through the states ...

, a canoe trail from Old Forge to Fort Kent in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. It is also the basis of the route of the

Adirondack Canoe Classic __NOTOC__ The Adirondack Canoe Classic, also known as the 90-miler, is a three-day, canoe race from Old Forge to Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks of New York, United States. The race has drawn as many as 500 competitors from California to Fl ...

, a three-day, 90-mile canoe race from Old Forge to Saranac Lake. File:Raquette River - at Sweeney Carry.jpg, Raquette River at the Sweeney Carry, 1888. Photo by

Seneca Ray Stoddard Seneca Ray Stoddard (1844–1917) was an American landscape photographer known for his photographs of New York's Adirondack Mountains. He was also a naturalist, a writer, a poet, an artist, and a cartographer. His writings and photographs hel ...

. File:New York State Museum bulletin (1917) (14778482391).jpg, Buttermilk Falls in Hamilton County, 1914 File:Raquette (1).jpg, Raquette River in

Colton, New York Colton is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 1,451 at the 2010 census. The town, originally named "Matildaville", is named after early settler Jesse Colton Higley. Colton is in the southeastern part of t ...

Communities along the Raquette River

* Blue Mountain Lake, New York hamlet in the town of Indian Lake in Hamilton County * Long Lake in Hamilton County * Tupper Lake in Franklin County * Colton in St. Lawrence County * Hannawa Falls in St. Lawrence County *

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

in St. Lawrence County * Norwood in St. Lawrence County *

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

in St. Lawrence County * Massena in St. Lawrence County *

Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne The Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne ( ; french: Nation Mohawk à Akwesasne; moh, Ahkwesáhsne) is a Mohawk Nation (''Kanienʼkehá:ka'') territory that straddles the intersection of international (United States and Canada) borders and provincial (Ont ...

(or St. Regis Mohawk Reservation) in Franklin County

References

Adirondacks Rivers of New York (state) Tributaries of the Saint Lawrence River Rivers of Hamilton County, New York Rivers of St. Lawrence County, New York Northern Forest Canoe Trail {{NewYork-river-stub

Communities along the Raquette River

See also

References